Roof for silos and the like



March 29, 1938.

P. RUTTEN ROOF FOR sILos AND THE LIKE Filed June 10, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l A ZZ rn/eys March 29, 1938. RUTTEN 2,112,348

ROOF FOR SILOS AND THE LIKE Filed June 10, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AiZorw/eyf Ifzvenior Patented Mar. 29, 1938 ROOF FOR SILOS AND THE LIKE Peter Rutten, Osakis, Minn. Application June 10, 1937, Serial'No. 147,468

8 Claims.

This invention relates to roof structures for silos and the like wherein the roof is generally of dome-shape and made up of a plurality of interconnected sector shaped sections.

In erecting structures, such as silos, one of the principal problems which has been encountered is that of properly fitting the roof to the upper edge of the silo wall. This is due mainly to two things. One is that silos are generally measured by their interior diameter and due to the individual characteristics of various types of wall structures, their thickness and therefore the outside diameters of several types of silos will be materially different and in no way standardized. Another reason which makes the building of a silo roof diificult is the fact that almost invariably the wall structure is out of round and a relatively flexible roof construction must be used.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of my invention to provide a roof structure for silos and the like which can be,readily assembled upon a silo of odd outside diameter and irregular shape.

It is a further object of my invention to provide means for adjustably connecting the sector shaped elements which make up the roof by providing for limited relative movement in the joints connecting said sections.

A still further object is to provide a novel type of joint structure and auxiliary connection between adjacent sections, whereby the greatest amount of relative movement between sections is at that point where the roof sections arecon nected to the silo walls and there is substantially no relative movement at theupper ends of said sections where they connect with the roof cap. This latter feature permits the use of standard sizes of roof caps, regardless of the adjustment necessary where the sections are connected to the silo wall.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the views, and in which:-

Fig. 1 is an elevation of approximately onequarter of a fully erected roof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken transversely of a roof section with 4 portions of adjacent sections extended to the limit of their movement away from each other;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken transversely of a complete roof section and portions of adjacent connected sections with said sections pushed together to the limit of their movement in one direction;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a single roof section; Fig. 6 is a more or less diagrammatic side elevation of one of said roof sections showing the curvature which gives the dome-shape to the roof;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a similar section taken at the lower end of a roof sector on the line 88 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a slightly enlarged fragmentary view showing the interconnected upper corners of a pair of adjacent roof sections;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical section through the upper portion of a roof section and the lower portion of the roof cap;

Fig. ll is a sectional view through portions of adjacent roof sections and the connector strip used to interlock the last two sections joined in constructing a roof;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective of said connector strip;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of portions of adjacent sections joined by the connector strip; and

Fig. 14 is an enlarged vertical section through portions of the silo wall, a roof section and the element connecting said section to the wall.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, the roof is made up of a plurality of sector-shaped sections l5 which are bent in an arcuate shape, as shown in Fig. 6, and preferably provided with corrugations. The corrugations shown throughout the views have right angled bends but, of course, any type of corrugation could be used. Due to the shape of the roof sections, I have tapered the corrugations so that they widen from the top to the bottom of each section. This tapering is shown best in Fig. 5 and also in Figs. 7 and 8, the latter two figures being cross sections of the upper and lower portions of a section. The corrugated panel is not an absolute necessity but materially strengthens the roof structure and is highly desirable in a roof of this kind where no supporting framework need be used.

The side edges of each roof section are bent upon themselves, as best shown in Figs. 3, 4, 7 and 8. These bent over portions include an upstanding wall IG, a relatively horizontal wall I! which is bent back over the body of the roof section, and a downwardly turned tongue I 8 which is the extreme edge of the metal making up one of the sections. It will be noted that the downwardly turned tongue I8 is spaced from the main portion of the roof section and it is preferred that this space he just sumcient to permit the sliding of a part of an adjoining roof section beneath it. The opposite side of the roof section is bent in exactly the same manner as the left-hand side which has just been discussed, except that this bent or rolled over edge on the right-hand side is below the main surface of the roof section while that on the left-hand side is bent over above the roof section. It, of course, makes no difference whether the bent edge is on the top or bottom of the roof section except that the edges of each section are bent oppositely to one another, with the further provision, however, that all sections of the roof be formed in the same manner.

The above described bent over edges are adapted to be interlocked by sliding one bent over edge into the edge of the adjacent section, this being done advantageously by starting the bottom edge of a section to be added into the upper portion of the previously connected section and sliding the first mentioned section downwardly until it is in the correct position in interlocking engagement with the section to which it is joined. It will be noted that these bent over edges are of the same cross sectional size and shape throughout the entire length of the sections. This is brought out by comparing the bent over edges in Figs. 7 and 8. This interconnection of the edges of adjacent sections is continued successively until all the roof sections are in place.

However, when the final section has been joined to the section just preceding it in the assembling operation, it will be found that the free edge of the last section cannot be joined to the first section to be placed in the same manner as the other sections were joined, that is by sliding interconnection of the bent over edges of the last two to be joined. For that reason a connector element, indicated generally by the letter C is provided. The structure is best shown in Fig. 12 and includes a central vertical portion is which has the oppositely extending horizontal areas 20 and 2! which extend from the top and bottom of the portion I 9, respectively. The areas 20 and 2! can be considered to correspond with those portions of adjacent roof sections which connect with the turned over edges of the roof sections. It, therefore, follows that the outer vertical Walls 22 and inwardly turned horizontal areas 23 with the tongues 2 correspond with the portions 16. I1 and I8 of the bent over edges of the roof section. Therefore, this final connecting strip C can be used to interconnect the adjacent edges of the last roof section to be formed, and the first roof section which was put in place.

When all of the sections have been connected in the manner above described, the lower edge of the assembled roof is adapted to overlie the upper edge of the silo wall 25, as shown in Fig. 14. If the roof is found to be too large for the outer diameter of the silo wall so that a relatively close fit is not obtained, the size of the roof at its lower edge may be reduced by pushing the sections together, this adjustment is made possible by the construction of the interconnected bent edges of the roof sections since the tongues i8 of said bent over edges are adapted to be moved laterally within definite limits determined by the distance between a co-operating tongue iii of an adjoining section and the oppositely disposed vertical portion i6 of said adjoining section.

When this amount of movement in a single joint between adjacent sections is multiplied by the number of joints in the entire roof structure, it will be seen that quite a considerable degree of expansion or contraction is provided.

It is not necessary to have this provision for lateral adjustment around the roof at the top of the sections nor is it desirable. To the contrary. it is preferable that the opening defined by the top edges of the roof sections be maintained relatively constant. If this is the case, a roof cap 26 of a standard size can be used to cover the roof opening. I have, therefore, provided means for connecting the interconnected upper corners of adjacent roof sections with some sort of connector, such as a bolt 21 which extends through said adjacent upper corners, as best shown in Figs. 9 and 10. A nut is provided to anchor said bolt and is indicated by the numeral 28. As shown in Fig. 10, this bolt extends also through the lower portion of the cap 26, thereby securing said cap and roof sections firmly together.

The lower edge of the roof may be secured to the silo wall by any suitable means. In Fig. 14, I have shown a strap 29 which has an offset lower portion provided with a slot 30 which is adapted to receive a hook-like bolt 3i which has threaded on its elongated end a nut 32. The hook-shaped portion of the bolt is adapted to engage a hoop 33, such as is generally used to bind the wall panels of silo structures. The bracket 29 is shown secured by a bolt 34 to the lower portion of each roof section.

. From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a roof structure for silos madeup of arcuate interconnecting sector shaped elements which may be pro-formed at the factory and need not be made to any particular size for the individual silo to be roofed. In addition to the fact that the above described bent over interconnecting edges of said sections permit adjustment of the roof to various diameters, the particular way in which I have formed these bent over edges provides a finished roof structure which is unusually strong, said interconnecting edges providing suificient strength that no supporting framework or ribs need be used to strengthen the roof. This is a feature which not only lessens the cost of the structure but also greatly simplifies its erection, and since it is contemplated that structures of this type be erected not only by skilled labor but by the individual purchaser. ease of erection is an important factor. It should be noted also that the roof sections are connected and secured by a minimum of bolts. Only one is used at the top corners of adjacent sections, and the bottom of each section is secured by only one bolt. This feature is of importance because of the reduction in material costs and also because it greatly lessens the labor required in erection.

It should be understood that the chute dormer may be built in one of the roof sections so that it in no way interferes with the general mode of erecting the roof.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a roof structure for silos and the like, a plurality of arcuate sector-shaped sections whose non-parallel edges are bent upon themselves and adapted to interlock with the edges of adjacent sections in a manner permitting limited movement between said sections, and a connector for forming the final joint between the last two adjacent edges to be connected comprising an element having parallel edges bent upon themselves and adapted to engage the edges of said last mentioned adjacent sections.

2. In a roof structure for silos and the like, a plurality of sector-shaped sections having radial corrugations, the edges of said sections being bent upon themselves and adapted to interlock with similarly bent edges of adjacent sections, said corrugations being spaced sufflciently from said bent edges to permit limited lateral shifting movement between adjacent sections, and a connector adapted to interlock with the adjacent edges of the last two of said sections to be joined. v

3. In a roof structure for silos and the like, a plurality of arcuate sector-shaped sections having radial corrugations, the edges of said sections being bent upon themselves and adapted to slidably interlock with similarly bent edges of adjacent sections, a connector adapted to interlock with the adjacent edges of the last two edges to be joined, means for substantially rigidly connecting the upper corners of adjacent sections, and a common connector and anchoring means secured to the lower ends of said sections.

4. In a roof structure for silos and the like, a plurality of sector-shaped sections adapted to form a dome-like roof, the edges of said sections being bent upon themselves and adapted to interlock with limited lateral shifting movement with oppositely bent edges of adjacent sections, a central roof cap adapted to overlie the top edges of said sections, bolts extending through said roof cap and the overlapping upper corners of adjacent interlocking sections, and a connector ring secured at spaced points to the lower portions of said sections.

5. In a dome-shaped roof structure for silos and the like, a plurality of longitudinally arcuate sector-shaped sections, the longitudinal edge portions of said sections being bent to a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape with their extreme edges positioned normally to the main surfaces of the sections and spaced therefrom, whereby the edges of adjacent sections are adapted to interengage to hold said sections together.

6. In a dome-shaped roof structure for silos and the like, a plurality of longitudinally arcuate sector-shaped sections, the longitudinal edge portions of said sections being bent to a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape on the upper sides of said sections with their extreme edge portions positioned normally to the main surfaces of the sections and spaced therefrom a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the material forming said sections, whereby said edges can be slidably inter-engaged with similarly bent edges on the under sides of said sections, the vertical sides of said rectangular portions being spaced apart a distance substantially greater than the thickness of said sections to provide for limited lateral shifting movement between adjacent lnter-engaged sections.

7. In a dome-shaped roof structure for silos and the like, a'plurality of longitudinally arcuate sector-shaped sections, the arcuate edge portions of said sections being bent at right angles to the main surfaces of the sections and then bent inwardly parallel to said sections, and then toward said sections to points spaced from the main surfaces of said sections, the bent edges of one section being slidable in an arcuate curve into interlocking engagement with similarly shaped, oppositely bent edges of adjacent sections.

8. The structure in claim 7, and means for connecting the adjacent edges of the last two sections to be joined comprising an arcuate strip having a vertical central wall and portions extending laterally from said central wall at opposite sides thereof, said extending portions being formed similarly to the edge portions of said sector-shaped sections and in opposite relation to each other.

PETER RU'I'I'EN. 

